Harry was sitting with his head between his hands in the common room. He had thought about what he should do. I mean there was no way he could go with Lily on a d- on a d-. He refused to finish the thought. But the image of a disappointed Lily Evans just made his heart break. He never got a chance to get to know her, she was taken from him before he had the capacity to remember, and in the end, she gave her life for him. He wasn't sure he could refuse.
"Harry. Did Nathan finally dose you with that flummoxing potion?" he said biting on an apple, seeming quite pleased with himself.
"Regulus. No. Just. Thinking."
"Well don't think yourself silly."
He thought about his plan to turn Regulus. And he thought it might be a good idea to gauge his reaction to the news of his letter. He sighed. Maybe he was being too pessimistic. After all wasn't that what friends did? Talk about girls. Harry shuddered.
"Can you keep a secret?"
Regulus frowned. "Uh. All right. You didn't kill anyone did you?"
Harry gave him a deadpan stare. "You know Lily?"
Regulus' eyes rolled up in his head, feigning trying to remember. "Oh yeah. Reddish hair, big green eyes, legs that go up to the east tower," he answered with a knowing grin.
Harry groaned. "Just keep this quiet all right. She invited me to the Three Broomsticks this Saturday."
Regulus laughed. "You sure move fast Peltier. Sly dog."
"It's not… like that."
"Suuure", he said in a sarcastic voice, polishing off his apple.
Harry turned serious and met his eye for a moment. "Stop me if I'm on the wrong track here, but… doesn't your family and… Slytherin think badly of people like her?"
Regulus' face went blank for a second and he tossed his apple into the vanishing bin. He let out a heavy breath. "It sure is what my mother keeps saying. Our family's been trying to preserve its status, and status means blood in the wizarding world." He scoffed. "Sirius now he didn't take to that very well, spent hours in shouting matches with our father. Bloody rebellious bastard didn't make things easy."
He sat up in his chair. "Point is, you don't have those responsibilities. Your family doesn't have centuries of fame to live up to. Me? I'll sure marry a pureblood witch, hand picked by my parents, but that's my burden."
"I won't give you shit for seeing a muggle-born," he said smiling, "but I won't promise not to grill you for seeing a Gryffindor girl."
Harry smiled back at him. "Thanks, mate."
Regulus clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't mention it."
He was more determined than ever now. If he could not only take down Riddle, but also turn his followers before they had the chance to go bad, he would do so with every tool at his disposal. There was no way Regulus couldn't be saved.
He took out parchment and ink.
~~~~~~
Sarah trudged into the common room in her jammies, nursing a cup of tea. Her head turned to Lily who was sitting holding her knees in the couch, seemingly very interested in a piece of parchment.
She stopped and discarded her cup on the table. Her 'witch's instinct' as she liked to call it was buzzing loudly in alarm. Something was up with Lily Evans, and the source of it, was a boy.
"Lilyyyy." she said teasingly.
Her friend glanced up from the piece of parchment. "What is it?"
"You know you can't hide things from me."
"Oh shut up, Sarah."
She jumped next to Lily on the couch and threw her arms around her, and Lily folded up the parchment. "Come on, Lils. I bet he's cute too."
Lily was doing her best impression of a deer, not moving an inch as Sarah scrutinized her. "Is it James?"
To this Lily cocked her head and frowned. "No!"
"Geez, all right. But please, pretty pretty please with cherry on top. I promise I won't tell anyone."
"I just need to know." she said pleadingly.
"You promise?" Lily said in a serious tone.
She made a gesture zipping her mouth. "If I say anything you can hex me bald until Easter."
Lily nodded, and handed over the letter.
After a few seconds, Sarah's mouth dropped.
Dear Lily,
You're not crazy, I enjoyed our time at the library very much as well. Thankfully you're much braver than I, so yes, I accept your invitation for this Saturday. I was thinking three o'clock, if that's fine for you I'll see you then. I can't wait.
Sincerely,
Harry Peltier
"Oh Lily Jean Evans you are in sooo much trouble!" Sarah said gleefully.
Lily slapped her arm. "You promised yo wouldn't blab!"
"I know. Just, you really like him don't you?"
Lily nodded, cheeks bright red. "I think so."
Sarah gave her back the letter and pulled her friend into a hug. "Poor girl head over heels for a Slytherin boy. Don't worry, I have your back."
Lily smiled a little.
"So what are you going to wear?" Sarah asked slyly.
~~~~~~
"I don't think I can do this."
Harry had been staring at his reflection for the past 30 minutes in the empty bathroom. Somehow he had forgotten basic bodily functions. His legs were stuck in place and he was pretty sure if he had to hold a conversation, the only thing that would come out was nonsense.
"Oh come on Harry. You're our prodigal seeker! Show some moxie for Salazar's sake." Regulus encouraged. "Although I get your nervousness. I'd be shaking too if I had a date with a fox like her."
"Really not helping. And it's not a date." It wasn't. Wasn't it?
"You keep telling yourself that, buddy." Regulus said patting his shoulder. "But seriously, pull yourself together man. You think she'll give you a second chance if you screw this up?"
Harry breathed in, trying to calm himself. "All right. I can do this. Just a pleasant chat and a butterbeer. That's all."
"There you go. And you look good by the way. You know, well dressed."
He was wearing black slacks and a deep green turtleneck Regulus let him borrow over a sky blue shirt. Thankfully they had roughly the same build.
"Hey I'm going as well. Find me at Zonko's after."
And with a foggy head he made his way to Hogsmeade. He got there five minutes early and when he got to the front of the Three Broomsticks, he might as well have been hit by a train.
Lily had definitely put in the effort. Her hair was done in three braids which came together in one larger more intricate braid. She was wearing green leg warmers and a dark red dress which showed more cleavage than Harry was possibly comfortable with. Over it, dark gray robes framed her figure in a way that made his heart beat at a hundred miles an hour. And she was wearing lipstick, deep red that brought out her eyes.
In his mind the comparison with Ginny was made unconsciously. Ginny had been a beautiful girl, as far as to attract more than her share of lovestruck boys, but Lily looked like she was carved by Aphrodite herself. And Regulus had been right, those legs did reach to untold heights.
Slapping himself mentally, he moved to meet her.
She gave him a smile that could topple nations. "You came."
"Of course I did." he replied, smirking like an idiot. "You look, lovely."
She blushed and he kicked himself for the compliment.
"Shall we?" she said playfully hooking her arm into his.
Harry nodded.
They took a seat at a table for four. The place was not too crowded.
"What's your poison?" she asked.
"I could use some liquid courage I guess," he answered, which made her laugh.
She ordered two firewhiskies and two butterbeers.
As they waited for their drinks, she was playing with a loose strand of hair, occasionally giving him a smile. It was slowly driving him mad and he was fairly sure his eye twitched because she grinned when he did.
Finally Rosmerta brought the drinks, not before adding 'for the two lovebirds', which almost made Harry crawl under the table. He took a large sip of firewhisky.
He was glad when she broke the silence. "So. How've you been?"
He nodded. "Fine I guess. That is until I got a mysterious letter delivered to me this week." He tried for a smile and she laughed, patting his hand.
"You'll give me a toothache being so sweet."
The whisky did help. As the topic drifted to their classes, Harry was getting more comfortable just spending time with the amazing woman that was Lily. Her propensity for charms was already apparent, the way she talked about details on the subject way over his head with ease renewed his affection for her. She seemed interested in what he had to say about dueling and he had to hide a bit of his practical experience when he did, but her attention was all on him. And it felt good finally getting this very special person know about his interests. He just felt a slight disappointment he couldn't tell her about his previous life. About the friends he made, the hardships he endured. It was a weight on his chest he wished she could help lift.
He realized something as he got to know her. He loved Lily Evans, with all his heart and no ulterior motives. He thanked the universe for letting him have this, however transient it might happen to be.
As their beers emptied the topic shifted to friends. And here Harry had to put on his new Slytherin facade. She talked about Remus, James and Sirius. He talked about Lucinda, Nathan and Regulus. Slowly they were getting to know each other's lives a bit better. It was on the topic of Sirius when it came up.
"You know, with what you're telling me about Regulus, it seems sad they're so distant as brothers," she said with an air of melancholy. Of course. This was Lily, kind and caring, that much of what he heard about her was true as ever.
"I guess it's not a simple situation." Harry said in response.
"Still… I know Sirius can be a bit… intense at times. But they both seem like good people. I wish we could do something about it."
Then a thought popped into Harry's head. "That's… brilliant!"
She laughed, "What is?"
"I mean we should do something about it. You know, try and bring them together."
A look of pleasant surprise spread on her face and she took his hand. "I was right about you."
He felt heat creep up on his face. "What about?"
"You are amazing."
He smiled, and once again he felt lost in those enchanting emeralds. "Thanks."
She let go of his hand and cleared her throat. "I guess that means we'll have to meet more often then."
"Yeah."
"In secret."
"Hm." Harry was now deep in thought. If there was one place where nobody would find them… And if he couldn't tell her, who was he going to tell?
"There is one place no one ever goes."
She narrowed her eyes. "Thought you were new at Hogwarts."
He nodded. "I can't tell you how I found it. And you can't tell anyone about it."
"Perfect. I'm great at keeping secrets, and terrible at revealing them."
He chuckled. "If you go to the seventh floor, just stand in front of the wall at the end of the hall, and wish for a place to meet me. But you really have to want it."
She gave him a judging look. "You're not trying to prank me are you, Harry?"
"Promise. How is Thursday afternoon for you?"
She bit her lip and slowly nodded.
They ordered another beer and Harry was surprised to learn she was an avid quidditch fan. Ever since getting her letter from Hogwarts she'd religiously followed the league and international matches. It was amazing to the both of them that the topic hadn't come up yet, and thanks to his encyclopedic knowledge of past leagues, he could dish and banter about the different teams, carefully not slipping up on matches that hadn't been played yet.
It was in a heated argument about the French national team that they were rudely interrupted.
"Well well, miss Evans. I always said we should encourage inter-house relationships." It was Slughorn, who was nursing a half mug of butterbeer. "I don't consider to have properly met a student until I meet them out of the classroom, Mr. Peltier, so good to see you."
Harry stood up with a start. "An honor, professor Slughorn." He internally shook his head, a vestigial reflex form when he was courting the bugger.
"Please, please, Horace when I'm off duty. You know, miss Evans is part of a quite exclusive gathering. I had thought about asking the bright star seeker, but I never got around to it. Not to mention your talent for apparition. Mr. Peltier, Harry, what would you say to an invitation to the Slug Club?"
Oh bother. He really didn't want to be stuck with Slughorn for another year. He gave Lily a look, but she was clearly enjoying the turn of events very much, holding back laughter.
"Slug Club?"
"Yes, Harry, yes. The greatest potentials, all gathered in one exclusive place, to discuss all about higher learning. And of course have a good bite to eat."
Harry felt like slapping himself again.
"Horace, I'm sure Harry here would be delighted to attend."
"Well, that settles it then. We usually meet on Monday evenings but I'll let miss Evans here fill you in on the details." He smiled brightly and hobbled over to a table in the back.
"What did you get me into now?" It was a statement more than a question.
She took his arm, prompting to leave. He glanced at the clock in the corner, it was already half past five.
"Oh don't worry just some harmless fun. Personally I go for the cream puffs."
She asked him to walk her home and he agreed, stopping at Zonko's to see if Regulus was still there, though he didn't expect him to be, and he wasn't. They were entering the grounds when they spotted a familiar face. Black hair and a confident strut, Sirius.
His reflex was to untangle from her but she was holding tightly onto his arm, unashamed. He would let her do the talking. Sirius stopped in front of them and Harry couldn't but hold back a wave of elation as he saw someone he considered a best friend in another life in front of him.
"Lils?"
"Sirius, I want you to meet my friend." She said stepping aside and letting Harry continue the introduction.
Harry stepped forward. "Harry. Harry Peltier."
Confusedly Sirius shook his hand. "Yeah. You're the bastard who kicked James' arse aren't you?"
Harry laughed nervously. "I guess so."
Lily stepped in again. "He made quick friends with your brother you know."
"Did he?"
"It was nice meeting you." Harry said.
"Right," Sirius answered, still completely befuddled by the situation.
Lily took both Harry's hands and her lips lingered on his cheek, smiling brightly. "Thanks for a lovely time, Harry. I'll see you around."
She then turned to Sirius. "Let's go." And Sirius followed.
And Harry was again left completely amazed at the power of Lily Evans.
When he got back to the common room, Regulus jumped up.
"Well? Went well I take it?"
Harry nodded. "Thanks for your help."
"Hey, what's a mate for, aye?"
Harry grinned.
"What's going on?" Lucinda asked.
"No concern of yours Luci." Regulus said, pointing a finger.
Nathan Melville, Slytherin prefect, proudly piped in. "Oh I know all about what happened."
Harry winced. So someone did see them.
Lucinda jumped up on her seat. "Hey I want to know too."
Nathan laughed. "Lover boy over there got himself a date with THE pretty Gryffindor girl."
Lucinda's jaw dropped. "You're joking me."
"No joke. He had the beauty fawning all over him."
Harry sighed. "Guys, it's not like that."
"Right." the trio sarcastically said in unison.
"But hey, can't blame ya. Congratulations, Peltier, seriously. You'll be the envy of every wide-eyed Gryffindor boy in the castle." Nathan stated with a satisfied grin.
Harry was left to his thoughts for a moment. He hadn't calculated the effect of taking the uncontested beauty of Hogwarts for a drink. He felt exhausted.
"Still can't believe it. Lily Evans falling for a Slytherin." Luci said prodding at an assignment.
This was going to be a tough next week.
"Oh." Harry remembered. "I was also invited to the Slug Club."
The room erupted into wild snickering and Harry quickly joined in at the thought of his own despair.